School children protest naked at Chinese embassy

April 14, 2009

By Namgyal Kunga
Phayul
April 13, 2009

New Delhi, April 13 -- Outraged by the continuing
oppression in Tibet, 10 Tibetan school children
staged a naked protest at the heavily guarded
Chinese Embassy in the Indian capital. The
Tibetan students who had just finished their
board exams barged into the embassy premises here
to protest against what they called "on-going
repression in Tibet and to show their solidarity
to the Tibetans inside Tibet who continue to
struggle for freedom amid Chinese government's brutal crackdown."

The 10 Tibetan children who were in their
undergarments chained themselves onto the barbed
wire that surrounded the Chinese Embassy and
shouted slogans calling for "freedom in Tibet"
and "human rights in Tibet." Nine of them were
arrested by the police. The school children did
not belong to any political group or NGO.

"We did this protest to show the Chinese
leadership that their repressive policies in
Tibet are naked truth no matter how hard they try
to hide from the world what Tibetans in Tibet are
going through," said Dorjee Tsetan, a student of
Bylakuppe Tibetan Children's Village School.

The protest comes days after China sentenced two
Tibetans, Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak, to death
for their alleged involvement in last year's
protests in Lhasa. Two others, Phuntsok and
Kangtsuk, were also sentenced to death but with a
two-year reprieve, and Dawa Sangpo was sentenced to life imprisonment.

"There is an immense crackdown and brutality
being imposed on the Tibetan people inside Tibet.
Chinese government in their 50 years Occupation
of Tibet has failed to respect the sentiments of
the Tibetan people. We have lost everything, our
homes, families, friends, relatives and even our
basic rights to live as human being. We have
nothing more to lose," said Dorjee.

Rabgyal, another student of the same school, said
"We have just finished our class 10th and 12th
board examination, and as Tibetans we feel it is
our moral responsibility to speak out on behalf
of those Tibetans inside Tibetan who can't, we
have decided to use our vacation positively. To
shelve our dignity is the only way we thought we
can bring the attention of the world community,
which has done little in the last 50 years in
supporting us to get back our country."

"My parents were imprisoned for participating in
a peaceful protest last year," said another
student, Tsering, "I have no clue about their
present condition. I came here to ask the Chinese
government to release my parents and all the
other innocent Tibetans who were imprisoned for
expressing their feelings for Tibet and devotion
to His Holiness the Dalai Lama."

This year marks 50 years of China's Occupation of
Tibet. Tibetans both inside Tibet and in exile
had to go through an immense suffering of separation.

"I left Tibet because I was deprived of my right
to education, freedom of speech, religion and
movement. Thousands of Tibetan children like me
cross the Himalayas every year to escape the
oppression in Tibet." said Lodoe, another
protester, "The oppression must end so that
Tibetan parents no longer have to part with their children."

"I am thankful to India and the Indian people and
this protest is in no way a disrespect to the
sentiments of the Indian people. For us, this was
the last thing we could do," he added.